Moffie


Moffie is a 2019 South African-British biographical war romantic drama film written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. The plot revolves around two gay characters Nicholas van der Swart and Dylan Stassen who attempt to come to terms with their homosexuality. The film is based on an autobiographical novel by Andre Carl van der Merwe. The film had its world premiere release at the Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2019. It also had its special screenings at other film festivals and received several nominations in various categories.

Synopsis

The film is set in 1981 South Africa and presents the story of a gay teenager completing his compulsory military service with the South African Defence Force on the border with Angola.
South Africa's white minority government is embroiled in a conflict at its border with Communist-led Angola. All fit South African white males between 17-60 must complete two years of mandatory military service- Conscription- to defend the country against Communist followed by annual Commando camps, both training and operational. The Conscription applied to South African nationals but certain groups such as British passport holders could seek exemption.

Cast

Moffie holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.67/10.
The film was nominated for the Best Film category at the London Film Festival 2019. It received two nominations at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, for the Queer Lion Award and Venice Horizons Award.

Adaptations

Moffie was also imagined as a dance work in 2012 by Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient Bailey Snyman. Snyman's version premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2012 to critical and acclaimed reception. The dance version was also performed at the Market Theatre. in Johannesburg in August 2012 and at the State Theatre in Pretoria in December 2012. The work was revived for performances at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town in January 2015.